Artemis Fowl: The Changeling
by Adali
Summary: Holly Short is dead. Her baby daughter goes to the one person in the world who can protect her from Holly's psychopath murderer. This is her story the daughter, not the dead fairy or the psychopath. Abandoned.
1. Prolouge

**Prologue**

* * *

  
The glow from dozens of computer monitors gave an iridescent glow to the centaur's tears as his trembling voice read out the report for the computer to record. Centaurs didn't make many friends, and Foaly had just lost one of the few he had.   
"Captain Holly Short." The computer brought up the profile. A picture of Holly accompanied a detailed description of her. "Final report." This brought up another window. "Died May first. Equipment malfunction. Chute B26." Holly's pod had spiralled down into a super hot jet of magnum when one of its wings had jammed. Foaly didn't believe it to be an accident: his equipment didn't malfunction. Except that he didn't have any proof.   
He couldn't finish the report. The computer, or one of the techies, would fill in the blanks. "Close report. Deactivate profile." The computer beeped, and complied. But instead of leaving the quiet garden image that it showed when not in use, a video clip appeared on the screen. Foaly moaned, fresh tears pouring down his cheeks.   
"If... if you're seeing this, Foaly.... then it means... it means I'm.... I'm dead," the image of Captain Short said quietly. She looked down, composing herself, the strait at the camera again. "After Trouble's death, I started to suspect Koboi was up to something. I'm trying to find out what."Opal Koboi, a crazed genius of a pixie, had been released from prison less than a year after her imprisonment. Trouble had died on assignment a few months later. Holly had been the one to put Koboi away, and Opal held grudges. "I don't have any proof, though. Foaly, if you're watching this, and what I think must have happened had, I need you to do something."   
"Anything," the tearful centaur promised the screen.   
"I want you to send my daughter away." Her daughter was no more than three months old. "Somewhere Koboi won't find here. Somewhere safe, Please Foaly," the image begged. "Keep her away from Koboi. Send her away, anywhere, so long as it's safe. Please."   
"I promise," he croaked.   
The image smiled sadly. "Goodbye Foaly." She was gone.   


* * *

  
It was the middle of the night when Artemis awoke to a tapping on his window. He considered calling for Bulter, something he would have done without even pausing two years ago, but decided against it. Something told him he had to handle this alone.   
The fairy blaster he kept on his bedside table was in his hand in a second. Lately the grip had been feeling a bit small, but it was still the best weapon on, or under, the earth. He pulled open his patio door, staying out of the way in case his visitor was hostile. He waited, counting slowly as Butler had taught him, but nothing happened. Either the visitor meant no harm, or knew his tactics. A cautious glance out the showed an odd sort of craft, obviously meant for flying, and a malformed shape silhouetted against the quarter moon.   
"You have to invite me in, mudboy, we need to talk." Mudboy? As far as Artemsi knew, he hadn't done anything to overly aggravate the People in years. What could this possibly be about?   
"Enter." The shape obliged. Artemis backed up and turned on the light, keeping his blaster trained on the shape, which closed the door. To his immense, though well hidden, surprise, it was Foaly, not one of the LEP as he had half expected. The centaur was holding a closely wrapped bundle and looking extremely worried.   
"I have to make this quick. They don't know I'm here, and they can't find out." Artemis didn't ask who 'they' were, but sat on his bed and nodded for the fairy to continue, without loosening his grip on the blaster.   
"Holly's dead." Artemis froze. The centaur now had his full attention. "Koboi was paroled. Holly suspected she would come for revenge. She... left me a video clip, telling me as much."   
"There's no proof, is there?" Artemis asked heavily.   
"None," the centaur said with a shake of his head. "In the same clip she asked me to send her daughter to a safe place. I couldn't think of anywhere else."   
"Wait a minute," Artemis interjected. "Her daughter?"   
"She married Trouble Kelp shortly after the Russia incident." The incident that had put Koboi behind bars in the first place and during which they had rescued Artemis's father from the Russian mafia. It was at that time he and Holly had become friends, of a sort. "This," the centaur indictated the bundle he kept clasped to his chest, " is her daughter."   
"You want me to raise a baby fairy?" Artemis wasn't totally sure he believed what he was hearing, and for all his cynicism, he could believe a lot of really weird things. Like in fairies. "I'm a sixteen year old human boy, Foaly. I live with both my parents, neither of whom can or will believe in fairies. I also spend the better part of my life at boarding school. And, in case you didn't notice, the People don't exactly look like humans. There's no way I could pull it off."   
"Listen to me mudboy, you're her only chance." Foaly pulled the cloth away from the infant's face. Artemis saw, to his utter amazement, what looked like a perfectly normal human baby. No forest green or nut brown skin, no pointed ears. Just a pale pink little face with a bit of black hair. The girl didn't look anything like one of the People.   
"It's babies like her that support the theory that humans and fairies had common origins. How she came out of that family, I'll never know. Will you take her? Please? She'll be much to easy to find in the Lower Elements."   
"I'll take her," Artemis said at length. The centaur nodded and, in a matter of moments, was gone, leaving Artemis with the infant and a small closed frequency communicator.   
"Butler," Artemis summoned his bodyguard over Fowl Manor's intercom. "Come here a minute." The manservant arrived in a matter of seconds to find his employer seated on his antique four-poster, cradling a baby and a fairy gun. The boy explained the situation as briefly as he could, then the two sat in silence for a time, remembering their friend the Captain. Artemis wasn't totally sure how he'd ended up with Holly's infant daughter, but by some twist of fate he had, and for Holly he planned to do his best. She'd saved his life several times: it was a way to finally repay her.   
"Artemis," Butler said after a long time, "what's her name?" The boy looked down at the sleeping child he held awkwardly in his lap.   
"I don't know."   
Butler grabbed the little transceiver that lay glittering on the bed. "Foaly."   
"Yes?"   
"What's her name?"   
There was a long pause. "Artemis Julia Kelp."   


* * *

  
_I'm sorry to all of you who liked Holly, but I decided for this story to work out, she had to be killed off. It should get happier (a little, at least) in later chapters, but if you're looking for the happy, everything's-right-with-the-world fanfic, this isn't it._   
_Since I can't put it in the story, I decided to include it here: Artemis Julia Kelp is named after, you guessed it, Artemis Fowl the second. Holly named her that in a burst of sentimentality, because her husband had just been killed. Artemis had defeated the killer (duh it was Koboi) orignially, so it was kinda one of those things. Julia is half after Commander Julius Root, and partly after Juliet Butler._


	2. Daddy's Girl

**Chapter 1 ~ Daddy's Girl**

* * *

Artemis Fowl the second was, if not overly happily, a married man. He had been one for several years. His wife was the daughter of another European crime lord, although as far as she was concerned, both her father and her husband were involved in strictly above the board ventures. Artemis had never bothered to correct her.   
She did know, or rather, had found out right after the wedding, that Artemis had a daughter, one to which he denied any relation. The girl had been in the joint care of Angeline Fowl, Artemis's mother, Butler, his old manservant, and Artemis himself since she was born.   
Marlene never really believed her husband about the little girl. Neither of their two children looked or acted anything like their father. She had seen from the moment she met the girl at eight years old that she was just like him, down to her name even.   
She tried her best to like the girl, but the child resisted all attempts. She liked her father and his family well enough, and got along splendidly with many of Artemis's friends, who made a pet of her, but she refused to associated with Marlene or her half-siblings. Anytime Marlene tried to enlist Artemis's help in the matter, he shrugged it off.   
In the end, Marlene decided to send the child away to boarding school, in the hope that she wouldn't grow up quite as odd and secretive as her father.   


* * *

  
Saint Agnes's School for Young Ladies was considered to offer the very best education available. It was also closely linked with Saint Barthelby's School for Young Gentlemen, which Artemis Fowl had attended, and where six year old Samuel Fowl currently did. As such, it was deemed the perfect place for Artemis Kelp, known to the world as Artemis Fowl the third, to grow into a seemly young woman. A notion which she strongly resented. Because of this, Marlene Fowl had signed her up for councilling. Poor Doctor Po, who was nearing retirement, had just come from Saint Barthelby's for a lighter work load and less stress. He nearly had a heart attack when he discovered one of his primary patients was to be yet another Artemis Fowl.   
"Hello young lady," the doctor greeted the raven haired girl as she took a seat across the desk from him. The nickname Raven suited her well. "How are you today?"   
"Spare me the inane drivel. You know my day gets worse every second I stay in this miserable hole." She said something much to that effect every time a teacher asked.   
"Your mother thought these sessions would improve your life here at Saint Agnes's."   
"If you must talk to me, make sure what you say is correct. There were two flaws in that sentence alone."   
"Oh? And what were they?"   
"That Marlene Ryscov is my mother, and that she thought. Neither is conceivable, let alone possible."   
"Indeed. Miss Fowl, I worked with your father once, over fifteen years ago." Personally, Po found the numbers a bit odd, startling even, but he never said anything about it. "I believe you have much the same problem he did."   
"That I am surrounded by fools and idiots?" Raven raised one eyebrow enquiringly.   
"You don't respect anyone."   
"That's ridiculous. I hold several people in the highest esteem." Almost exactly the same words Dr. Po remembered hearing from her father.   
"Who, for example?"   
The girl considered a moment, looking much like her father as she did. But her answer proved far more satisfactory than his had been. "My mother and father, my dad, my bodyguard Butler, my mother's commander, and... well, you won't count the last because he's a criminal, though he is an estimable man." Po consulted the girl's record, though he knew it by rote. It did mention her unique parental situation, if briefly, but there was nothing about her birth parents themselves.   
"You mentioned your mother," he said, trying the cajoling tone he used with the younger girls. "Would you tell me something about her." Raven was proving far more cooperative than her father had. This was a gamble, but it could really pay off.   
"She's dead," Raven said shortly.   
"I meant besides that."   
"I said she'd dead," the girl snapped. "You don't need to know anything else about her. I think that's enough for today." She rose.   
"Young lady, this session is not done." But Dr. Po's words were lost to the air. Raven was already gone.   
Butler met her outside. It was time to go home for spring vacation, and this meeting, attended only at Marlene's insistence, had been the last thing to suffer through before she could leave. "How are things, Butler?"   
"Well enough, Raven. Much the same as usual. How was your session with the councillor?"   
"As always. Marlene has a lot to answer for."   
"She'll have to answer another time. She and Elizabeth are visiting her parents right now." He held open the door to the Rolls Royce. "Mulch is staying with us right now, though. He was extremely excited to see you."   
"And I him." Mulch was Raven's favourite amongst her father's associates and friends. He had been the one to dub her Raven, and treated her like a favourite niece, bringing her small gifts from his 'business trips'.   
The trip to Fowl Manor was a short one. The car had hardly stopped before Raven was out of it, racing into the house and up the stairs to her father's oak panelled study. She burst in, waving to Mulch before hugging her father. "Daddy!"   
"Raven hunny, aren't you going to say hello to Mulch?" he responded, returning the hug. Never an affectionate man, Artemis Fowl nonetheless loved his little girl deeply. Raven twirled and hugged Mulch.   
"Hey there girly," he said cheerily. "How are you." She broke of the embrace and pouted.   
"Marlene's making me go to counselling."   
Artemis looked up. "That will never do. I'll have to speak to that school." He made a note on a slip of paper.   
"I know what'll cheer you up, girly," Mulch said cheekily. "Got a present for you. Close your eyes." Raven did as she was told, flushed with excitement. Mulch always had the best gifts. He put something smooth and cool in her palm. She ran her fingers over it lightly before opening her eyes. It was very light, but not too light. The metal was wonderfully cool and almost liquid. When she opened her eyes, she gasped. It was the most beautiful blaster she had ever seen.   
"Mulch, oh, thank you," she squealed, hugging the dwarf again. He chuckled.   
"Fresh from the workshop, that one. There'll never be another like it. The Council outlawed it the moment they set eyes on it. You don't leave toys like that where goblins can get their hands on them."   
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "The LEP don't even get them?"   
The dwarf shook his head. "Nope. The Council was all for that, but Root vetoed it. Didn't want Koboi to get her claws on one."   
"Koboi's out?" Raven's head snapped up from where she was admiring her blaster.   
"Head of the Council, she is. Wormed her way back up to the top. She..." A knock at the door interrupted him. Butler poked his head in.   
"Artemis, it's Root. He says he needs to talk to you."   
"Send him in."   
Root. Raven's stomach flipped over. She liked and admired the Commander turned Councillor, but he never brought good news. In the times Raven could remember, he'd brought news of the Bwa'Kel Goblin Triad's return to strength, Koboi's release and total acquittal, and the deaths of Wing Commander Vinaya and Raven's uncle Grub. Each of those times he'd come at night. It was still bright daylight outside. Whatever brought him this time must be bad.   
Butler ushered the Commander in. At just over three feet in height, he was dwarfed by the massive bodyguard. His hair was rather greyer than it had once been, Raven thought, and he seemed to have lost weight, though not in the good way.   
"Koboi's taken over," he said the moment he walked in. Butler closed the door quickly behind him.   
"What do you mean, 'taken over'," Raven demanded.   
"What I said, girl. Taken over. She's running Haven." Everybody looked at each other. This was by far the worst news yet.   
"Is it in a bad way?" Mulch asked at last.   
"Worst you can imagine. Haven's still running, of course, but the LEP have become bullyboys and enforcers. If you don't do it, you're out and in jail. Anyone who speaks against her is banished to the tunnels. She's deranged, and she's got power. How old are you now Raven?" he asked suddenly.   
"Fifteen."   
"Fifteen. Artemis, you started causing trouble for us at twelve. Do you think she's ready?"   
Artemis frowned. A lot of emotion for him. "Ready for what? Root, she's as human as I am now. Whatever scheme you have won't work."   
"It has to work," Root said tiredly. "It has to."   
"What has to work?" Raven demanded. "We're talking about me, remember? Shouldn't I have some idea about what's going on?"   
"It's too dangerous," Butler said.   
"Something has to be done, though," Artemis argued.   
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Raven yelled. They all looked at her.   
"Raven, there is something you have to understand. Much of what is done in the Lower Elements is done because it has been prophesied," Root said. Raven nodded. She knew that. She'd been well taught about the Lower Elements almost from infancy. "And prophesies are hard to understand. They use a lot of metaphors and analogies and... oh, what's the word? ... synonyms. Many years ago, before you were born, we thought one had been fulfilled. 'The ancient goddess will return to save the people from the silver orb' was about as clear as the seers could make it. Afterwards, we realized that they meant Artemis, your father, would save the People from Opal Koboi. But now we're thinking we might have been wrong, and twisted events to fit prophesy. It didn't seem it at the time, because they also said 'the dead will rise', and that fit. But there was one thing that didn't fit. It said return, and in prophesy, every word matters. Now we think, we're sure, that it meant you."   
"But it might not," Artemis interjected. "You have to understand that. And the prophesy doesn't say you will, it just says that's what you'll come to try and do."   
"I know Daddy," Raven said quietly. "But isn't that what I have to do? Try?"   
Artemis shook his head. "You're so much like your mother. Impossible to reason with."   
"For all that, she was a hero," Butler said.   
"Yes," the crime lord answered, "yes she was." He looked at Raven, seeing the tiny baby that Foaly had put in his arms. "You want to do this."   
"I have to."   


* * *

  
_I don't have the patience for this. Artemis, being morally opposed to something? Root and Mulch in the same room without fighting? Agh! But this story seems to be writing itself. With luck it'll write itself without too many stupid parts. Anyway, please review._   
_It may take a while to get the next few parts up, because I have a couple of original stories I'm writing which take precedence, not to mention the Harry Potter fic. Sorry to those of you I've kept waiting._


	3. Lower Elements

Chapter 2

* * *

  
Slipping through the various tunnels at the outskirts of Haven, Raven tried her very best not to wrinkle her nose in disgust. The fairies may have been the most technologically advanced race, but their home still smelled. It was better than it could have been, yes, but she still missed the clean air of the surface, polluted though it was.   
It had been easy enough to get here. The chute from Paris was completely unmanned, although it was often closely watched. But the LEP watched it for visible shuttles; hers could shield. It had taken all of her father's creative genius and Foaly's technical know-how, but she now had a ship that vibrated faster than the eye could perceive, and at a different frequency than a fairy. She had one of the few filters that made the shuttle visible.   
Not only was the shuttle invisible, but like so many fairy gadgets, it was silent, and emitted no radiation. Undetectable unless you knew exactly what you were looking for, and perhaps not even then.   
She had left the shuttle, still shielded, amongst the refuse of the terminal, noting as she did the silent pod that would hold some LEP or other, clamped high on the wall. Whichever officer needed some time out of the public eye, Root had told her once. Considering how little activity seemed to have gone on here in the past twenty years, the notable exception being her mother's fire fight, they needn't have bothered.   
They hadn't been doing a thermal scan, or she may have been caught. Her flight suit was the most advanced Foaly could make, with resistance to heat, cold, and almost every type of scanner. But sometimes the thermal coils took a moment to adjust, and in that crucial second she would have been seen. There was no fear of that here, though, deep in the tunnels. This was goblin territory.   
Fingering the little Neutrino blaster that she'd been given on her seventh birthday, Raven eased herself around a corner. No sense getting caught unawares. She had to know what she was up against before she made her presence known, although it might be better to stay hidden as long as possible. The silver gun at her hip had a reassuring weight to it as it rested against her leg. She wished she could use that, but it was the sort of thing better kept in reserve. If it surprised anyone she came up against, even a little, it would swing the balance in her favour.   
This next tunnel smelled particularly rank. Troll, she guessed. Big bull, about two thousand pounds. Even troll didn't make that stench, though. The night vision on her visor brought up a rotting mound. Troll, yes, but a smaller male. A fight, from the look of it, and lots of flesh and blood lost on both sides. She couldn't tell how long ago it had died, but she guessed it to be at least a week. Things didn't get that ugly that fast.   
Fighting her rebellious stomach, she made her way carefully down the tunnel, past the carcass. She'd never been much of a meat eater, though the rest of the family had never seen much point in vegetarianism. She wouldn't have minded eating meat, really, but her body couldn't process it properly. It was one of the few downsides to being one of the People.   
To counterbalance it, she was faster than any of the other girls at school, and stronger than almost any of them. And, she could shield. They never knew where she would turn up, smiling that innocent smile of hers, the one with the slightest touch of malice, ready to do whatever she felt like. They had long ago stopped talking about her behind her back, afraid she would overhear. After what she'd done to Olivia, it was a valid concern. The girl still hid behind trees whenever a hawk came by, though she had started eating foods other than nuts again. Dr Po was adamant that this was a major improvement.   
She was lost in thought, no longer paying as much attention as she should have been. Still, she heard the dirt crunch slightly behind her. She spun, cursing her inattention. As an arm caught her and placed the dark muzzle of an ancient blaster to her head, the stopped cursing inwardly and started swearing as colourfully as she could. It sometimes surprised people just how eloquently she could swear. It came with the gift of tongues, which let her speak any language in the world. She was pretty sure her captor took a surprised breath at her outburst.   
Whoever it was pressed the barrel a little harder to her skull, and ripped the blaster from her hand. She fell silent, and it was retracted just a hair. What she could see of it showed her it was an old gun, refitted a dozen times or more. The blast wasn't designed to kill, but it might have been modified. Even if it wasn't, she would be out for days, and probably loose a good chunk of memory and intelligence.   
Her captor began to walk her through the tunnels, taking seemingly random tunnels. It was highly uncomfortable walking this way, with the blaster never more than a half inch from her head. It could have been worse, she reminded herself, as they took their fourteenth left turn. The fairy could have been shorter than her, in which case she would have had to walk stooped. Or they could have been trigger-happy.   
From her own experience, Raven was sure the other person wasn't that happy either. Holding a gun, even as light of one as the fairy weapons were, was tiring, as was keeping up a menacing air. It was often surprising how much it took out of you.   
According to the tiny clock in the corner of the visor, they'd been walking that way for about twenty minutes when she was stopped by a rough jerk at her neck. She couldn't help but make a slight choking sound as a forearm jerked up under her helmet, the bone digging painfully into her windpipe. "Watch it," she growled, unable to stop herself. If it weren't for the gun, he'd be dead by now. If only she had paid more attention!   
"You aren't in any position to make demands," a voice growled back. Though her knowledge of fairy voices was very limited, she could tell her captor was male. The lighter, higher voice pointed to a lighter fairy of some sort, probably an elf, although he may have been a sprite. Certainly not a goblin or a dwarf. Not that the thought had ever crossed her mind. Those tended to be too short, as did gnomes.   
"Open up," he yelled louder. She resisted the urge to wince as he shouted in her ear. The crack in the stone beside her opened, spilling out light. An angry looking elf peered out, his scared face drawn in suspicion. She was pushed past him into the room beyond, the door whispering softly as it closed behind her captor. She was shoved towards the fall wall. Stumbling, she tried to catch herself before she hit, and half succeeded, but still hit with enough force to drive the wind from her lungs.   
Gasping, she turned, swearing as elegantly as she could while her world whirled around her. She made it half way around before falling to her knees. She'd been thrown that hard by Butler before, and never felt this way. It must have been the pressure down here, or something.   
"Why did you bring her here?" It wasn't the voice of her captor. It must have been the surly elf.   
"She's prime meat. Look at her. She's got top of the line LEP equipment my friend. This is one of their shining stars. They'll give anything to get her back." So they thought she was LEP? How far wrong they were. She bit back a harsh laugh.   
"Do you really think they'd let us go after they got her back, boy?" the scarred elf growled. Boy? She wasn't one to be captured by a mere boy. "They'll grab us and stuff us in Howler's Peak faster than you'd think possible."   
"But..."   
"They could," Raven said slowly, turning to face them. She could see the blaster pointed at her even as she did. "But they probably won't."   
"Don't try to bargain with me, girl," the scarred elf warned.   
This time she couldn't help but laugh harshly. This poor, poor fairy. He thought he was the tough guy on the block. He had no idea who he was dealing with. Right now, it was to her advantage to go along with them. If they got ideas, well, she still had her blaster, and she was dying to try it out.   
"I'm not. I'm simply telling you the way things stand." He looked at her considering. Her helmet finally found a match for him. The LEP helmets were quicker, but they didn't have to hide their access to the data stream.   
Oak Thon had been a member of Reacon One, the best and the brightest of the LEP. He had served under her father during what had become known as the Fowl Affair, and during the goblin rebellion. Known simply as 'Three' to most, he was a well recognised combat veteran. While his bio said he was missing, possibly dead, Raven now knew better. Thon was here in front of her, in the persona of a scarred and angry elf.   
His companion, the boy, wasn't recognised by the database. Which was odd, because everyone had a file on that computer. Every fairy in the Lower Elements, and every person recognised by any international police or security force. She herself had no fewer than a dozen pages, small font. Her dad and Butler together might well have comprised half the data on the computer. This boy shouldn't exist, and certainly not in the Lower Elements.   
That he might be an unidentified human didn't even cross her mind. A mudman would be killed quickly by the pressure, but he seemed to have no problems. At the same time, he could have passed for one easily enough. She doubted there was an inch difference in their heights. His skin was pale, but no more so than most European humans, and his hair a sort of light brown. Only his ears, slightly pointed, pointed to any connection to the People. Plus a few other things, like the blaster and his perfect Gnomish.   
"You may be right," Thon said simply. "But then, you might be lying."   
"Sir - ?" began the boy.   
"Quiet. Take off your helmet, girl. And don't try anything." Raven shrugged. She wouldn't try anything, not without a good opening and a better reason; the blaster was still pointed at her chest. She slid the helmet off her head, blinking to help her eyes adjust to the dim light. The night-vision on the helmet was so good she hardly noticed it. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw the scarred face tighten, perhaps in thought. She didn't bother looking at the boy, but her sharp ears kept careful track of his position.   
She smiled wryly up at the weathered face. "Another throwback. Funny how they turn up, isn't it?" She directed a certain cutting edge at the boy. She didn't know he was nor why she disliked him so, but it felt good to send cruel comments his way, even if he didn't understand them. "Now do you believe I'm not LEP?"   
"Not quite yet. What's your name?"   
Of course. He knew who she was, of that she had no doubt. His file said he'd been gone just over six years. He would certainly have seen her file; she'd had it since she was seven. The question was, did he know her real name, or just her mudman one? "An interesting question. Why don't you tell me?"   
"You are Artemis Fowl the third. Quite probably as much of a bane to the People as your accursed father."   
"Am I, indeed? Well, sir, let me ask you this then: why am I still alive?" He started to retort angrily, something about him asking the questions, she was sure, but paused. He seemed to think for a moment, putting things together.   
"Who are you?" he demanded. Like so many of the People would be, she was sure, he seemed shaken. She could understand that. It was hard to have your perceptions of a person so forcefully changed by things which you could not deny or explain away.   
She cocked her head slightly, as was her habit. Every teacher at Saint Agnes's had tried in vain to cure her of it. A ghost of something like a smile played around her face. Not a kindly smile, but a cruel, sarcastic one. "No one you need be concerned with. Please tell your young idiot to put his gun away. I'm not likely to try anything with one on me, so two are unnecessary." His head jerked involuntary to where the boy had levelled a blaster at Raven.   
"Put that up, boy," he snapped. He did, though reluctantly. "Could you tell me your name, please?" he asked his captive with forced patience.   
She considered a moment. There were many answers she could give, most of which gave away more than she could afford to. "They call me Raven," she said at length. He seemed to relax at hearing a name that, while it was doubtless uncommon for any earthbound fairy to be named for a bird, was at least passable as something one of the People would name their child. "Though that should do nothing to reassure you."   


* * *

  
_I didn't want to finish the chapter here, but it was getting too long, and I wanted to get it posted. So here it is, and I'll hopefully have more of the story before too much longer. Thanks to all of you who reviewed._


End file.
